The European Parliament will investigate the ties between a Luxembourg MEP and Russia
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has launched an official investigation into Luxembourg MEP Fernand Kartheuser, who is suspected of violating the code of conduct due to his regular contacts with Russian officials.
According to available information, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kartheuser has held video conferences with members of the Russian State Duma at least four times and has visited Russia in person twice.
The MEP’s most recent visit to Russia took place on June 3, 2026. The politician participated in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which is considered one of the Kremlin’s main international platforms.
During the event, Kartayzer and several other European lawmakers signed a joint statement with representatives of the Russian State Duma, in which the parties agreed to “continue and deepen” their cooperation.
However, as noted, the document made no mention of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In her statement, Roberta Metsola emphasized that such actions raise serious concerns, as they could create the impression of an official channel of communication between the European Parliament and the Kremlin.
Such contacts contradict the official policy of the European Union, which suspended cooperation with the Russian parliament back in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea and the start of aggression against Ukraine.
The relevant European Parliament committee is now tasked with assessing the MEP’s actions and deciding on possible sanctions.
If the violations are confirmed, Fernand Kartheiser could face severe disciplinary measures, including:
- loss of daily allowances;
- suspension from parliamentary activities;
- a ban on representing the European Parliament at the international level.
Karteiser himself stated that he was surprised by the allegations against him and called the situation “strange.”
The politician claims that his contacts with Russian representatives were an “informational dialogue in the name of peace” and were not intended to violate European Parliament rules.
It is worth noting that last year, Fernand Kartyzer was expelled from the “European Conservatives and Reformists” political group due to his unauthorized trips to Moscow and contacts with the Russian side.
Metsola’s letter was obtained by Politico.
Earlier, the European Parliament’s leadership expressed solidarity with the Baltic states following baseless accusations by Russia that they were allegedly preparing hostile actions against Russia.
Previously, the parties “Latvia First,” “National Alliance,” and “United List” called on Andris Spruds to step down following yet another incident involving drones in the country’s airspace.
As a reminder, on May 7, Latvia detected new unidentified drones in its airspace that had flown in from Russian territory; one of them struck an oil depot in Rēzekne. It has not yet been confirmed whether these were Ukrainian or Russian drones.
The Latvian prime minister criticized the warning system following the crash of a drone from Russia.
